Cloud Hopping
by wolfsrainrules
Summary: Jazz dies and the Allspark is destroyed. That is fact. Except Primus decides it's time to interfere with his creations and suddenly everything that was changed into everything that could be. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORTH. Have the plotbunny that mutated.
1. Chapter 1

**Happy Birthday North (a day early XD). (I don't know what happened. You gave me the prompts and they** _ **mutated**_ **. XD Hope you enjoy this.) I don't own Transformers or KHR (never thought I'd do a cross with** _ **these**_ **.) MAJOR HUGE AU which MEANS OOC to come.**

 **EDIT: I** _ **thought**_ **the Viral Daggers I mentioned later were cannon. They're not- they are the creation of SecretEnigma and so I give credit to her- and have her permission to keep them in here.**

 **TIME MEASUREMENTS:**

 **Astrosecond:** .5 seconds

 **Nano-klik:** 1 second

 **Klik** : 1 minute

 **Breem:** 8 minutes

 **Cycle:** 1 hour 15minutes

 **Deca-cycle:** 4 weeks (one month)

 **Mega-cycle:** 96 hours (four days)

 _ **Meta**_ **-cycle:** 12 months (one year)

 **Stellar Cycle:** 6 months

 **Vorn:** 83 years

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Jazz…wasn't sure _what_ happened.

He remembered screaming at Megatron. Screaming 'you wanna piece of meh?!' He remembered the reply- 'No! I want _two_ '- and then there had been _pain_. His body being ripped in half, his spark exposed to the air and agony that faded into dark numbness.

And then there had been a voice.

" _ **Energy cannot be destroyed- only transformed. You are not yet bound for the Well of Sparks Jazz. You have one last mission to do for me."**_

" _Wha' do ya need?"_ he had asked, somehow understanding this voice was to be trusted, that Jazz was being trusted with something bigger than himself for all that he was sure he had died.

" _ **Everything will become clear. You will find suffering where you go, and for that I am sorry, but you will return home to your family. This I can promise you."**_

" _Bu' wha' do ya need meh_ for _?"_

" _ **I am getting there young spark. You will change when you awaken- everything will be different. You will not be as you were- as you are now-in body. Your spark will remain, your memories will return as you age, but your frame will change. What I ask of you is to restore life and hope."**_

" _Ah don' understand. What will I be_ doin' _?"_ Jazz put aside the fact the voice considered him to be 'young'- very few mechs were older then he was. Ratchet and Ironhide were two of them and not even they considered him 'young' seeing as he wasn't that far behind them in the age department.

The voice sighed. _**"The Allspark will be…diminished. It will be caused damage, and as far as Cybertronians will be aware destroyed. But I told you before- energy cannot be destroyed…only transformed. I ask you as a spark extinguished before your time so close to the time the Allspark will be damaged to shelter its energy and help it recover."**_

Jazz felt like he was seconds away from a glitch even without a body. This voice wanted him to _shelter the Allspark_. To be the 'temple' around the Allspark core as it recovered from whatever mysterious damage it would apparently suffer. And to do this…he would have to give up his frame, his world, his family…and it seemed that for a time even his memories. He stared at the nothingness around him blankly as his processor ran the various possibilities depending on his choices. His processor ran over the promise he had been given earlier, his spark still whispering to trust the voice. _"Ah…will come home? If Ah take this mission Ah will come back here as Ah was, whole and aware? Able ta come back ta mah family?"_

There was a pause before the voice replied. _**"You will return here one day. I cannot promise that you will be exactly as you are now when you return, or how quickly you will come back but I can promise you that you**_ **will** _ **come back and will have your frame as you know it now."**_

Jazz sat still as he pondered the vague mission parameters that were being laid out for him. _"And if Ah say no?"_ His experience as head of Special Ops demanded he ask the question just to be sure of the consequences.

" _ **I will not have the energy to send you back. The Allspark will be the source of your return once it is strong enough with me to guide you back, and the energy it will give off when it is damaged will be the source of your change if you accept the mission. If you refuse the mission the only consequence to you will be that I step aside and allow your spark to continue on to The Well ahead. I will not force you to choose one way or the other."**_

Jazz was quiet as he pondered his choices again. The Well or a mission of unknown duration protecting the Allspark as it regenerated and a chance to go back to Earth with the Autobots. His instincts had never steered him wrong before and they whispered to him now—

He knew what he would choose.

O~O~O~

When Skull was young he drove his caretakers _mad_.

He was a rebellious little hellion, who loved to get into _everything_ and wanted to know _everyone and their mother's_ business. He was perfectly willing to be _sneaky_ about it too. If an adult would not answer his questions, he would go out of his way to _take_ the information he wanted any way he could manage it.

This included lock picking, snooping, sneaking, eavesdropping, climbing through the vents or on the roof as well as bribing the other children. There was _nothing_ that could be hidden from Skull long once he decided he was going to poke and prod at it.

His caretakers tended to take offense to his ways.

Skull didn't care. He wasn't sure _why_ he was the way he was. All he knew was that he _needed_ to know what was happening around him no matter what it was. He felt like he was _supposed_ to know what was happening around him from the simplest piece of gossip to the secrets that lead to extensive blackmail collections, from the legal to the illegal.

(And if something in the back of his head whispered that every piece of gossip had a grain of truth, that blackmail was _important_ , that he _needed_ to see the patterns in people around him, that knowing the people who worked on the 'shady' side of the fence would one day save him, well Skull wasn't going to argue with it.)

Not to mention his odd fascination with mechanics and vehicles, how he would often take things apart and put them back together again often better than they started. Not that that mattered when the caretakers had a bad habit of walking into the kitchen _just_ as Skull had taken the toaster apart to upgrade it. (Seriously. Who ate that much toast? If they would just _let him fix the toaster_ instead of coming in just after he had pulled it apart to demand he 'put it back to how it was' they wouldn't be having this problem.)

There was only one exception to that rule, one caretaker who encouraged his ways and the same caretaker to introduce him to the one thing that settled him. The one thing that made his body still and his mind quiet. That calmed his endless energy.

 _ **Music**_.

Skull was nine when his favorite caretaker introduced him to it. Or rather he was nine when he got curious about what Miss Melody was doing every day when she left for the room in the back he wasn't supposed to go in.

(Not that it stopped him. He'd climbed into the vents to figure out what the room was, and he was confused when all he saw was a room full of mirrors and soft mats with a long bar against the wall. Why wasn't he allowed in there?) So he had followed her into the room, asking if he could see what she was doing.

Miss Melody was Skull's favorite because she never discouraged his questions, and always answered them to the best of her ability without talking down to him because of his age. When he asked to see what she was doing in the 'glass room' she had laughed and told him he could come so long as he was quiet. Normally Skull wouldn't manage it- he was always hyper, like he had too much energy shoved in a too small body- but for Melody who always answered him when he had a question, who taught him better ways to sneak around to get the information he wanted, who would go look for an answer for him if she didn't have one available and didn't know herself…Skull was willing to try.

It had all been silent as Melody took him into the room and sat him down in the corner on some of the squishy mats. At first all she had done was stretch out and as the minutes passed, Skull had started fidgeting as he watched her bend in ways he didn't know a human could manage, but he remained silent.

And then she walked over to a music player and glanced at him with a smile. She hit play and darted to the middle of the room to settle into a pose. The first three seconds were silent before music began to play from the speakers and Melody began to _move_.

Skull was immediately mesmerized.

She was speaking without words, every movement of her body had a purpose, every note of music appearing to support her every breath. All he wanted to do was get up and join her. When it was over and Melody was on the floor, one leg folded under her body while the other extended fully out in front of herself alongside her arms, the foot and her hands arched, she held the position a few seconds after the music ended before elegantly unfolding herself and getting to her feet.

Music had continued to play, but Skull had been staring at Melody. His mind was _always_ moving, always thinking, always jumping tracks, and gathering information. His mind was never _quiet_ \- they called him a genius for it. But watching Melody dance, hearing the music, watching as her body told a story alongside every carrying note, every tune…

His mind had stopped going what seemed like 1000 directions. Instead it had settled, slowed, and calmed, it had focused. He'd never been so… _settled_. His thoughts, his feelings had followed the music as he allowed it to sweep him along with it.

But Melody… _Melody_ hadn't been swept away with the music. She had stepped beside it, matched its every move. Lived and _breathed_ its story.

 _ **Skull wanted to do that.**_

"Melody…can ya teach meh ta dance like tha'?"

Melody had laughed. "I could. It will take a lot of work though."

Skull had grinned, wide and daring, "Ah'll do it." He promised.

Over the years that would follow, Skull learned how to dance from Melody with an almost religious zeal. He thrived with something that helped his brain slow down, and his mind stop running in 1000 directions. (Sometimes he felt like his brain was a computer with no 'off' button.)

O~O~O~

When Skull was 11 he started having strange dreams.

Every night he fell asleep he would dream of a beautifully alien world made of metal. He would dream of running its streets, of learning its back alleys. He would dream of running, and laughing of learning its language and writings. He dreamed of tragedy and then being hungry, of struggle amongst the beauty and the laughter. Of being a youngling without a home.

Over the years he would dream of learning street smarts the hard and dirty way, of spying and stealing to survive, of learning to portray a mask…and then he would dream of meeting an Enforcer named Prowl, who would teach him to _trust_. He would dream of the many vorns it took the stubborn mech to win him over…and then he would dream of _loyalty_ and what it meant. He would dream of loyalty and trust returned.

Then came the dreams of _war_. Of entire cities being destroyed, of metal flying, of mechs and femmes being torn apart into nothing, of sparks being torn from the chassis, of _**sparklings**_ who would never get the chance to grow.

Skull dreamed of a mech called Jazz who chose to follow Prowl into the ranks of the Autobots, of his choices, of his skills. The battles he won, the battles he lost…the friends he found, the family he made. He would dream of how Jazz eventually became the Special Ops commander and the Third in Command. He dreamed of finding is place in the world. He dreamed of a desperate gamble, of sending his race's source of life and energy into the stars to keep it away from the Decepticons and then he dreamed of following it into the stars.

He would dream of a young planet called Earth, and the young human who helped them find the Allspark, of another battle, and how he lunged to meet the biggest bad he had ever had the misfortune to meet…

…and then Skull dreamed of dying.

Only it didn't stop there- he dreamt of waking up, of a voice…of a promise and a choice.

And suddenly Skull remembers.

 _ **His designation is- was- Jazz of the Autobots and he holds the Allspark**_ **.**

O~O~O~

When Skull- Jazz- is 20 years old, his world shifts under his feet. Again.

He had started his stunt show as a joke. Once he had remembered what he was _before_ \- remembered being Jazz- Skull had wondered if he could do some of the stunts he had managed as a mech while he was human.

(That was _after_ he stopped laughing when he realized why he had always been partial to the Porsche 935 and the Pontiac Solstice which had both served as his alt mode at one point or another during the short period on Earth and had quickly grown on him.)

A motorcycle had been a spur of the moment choice simply because Skull missed the sensation of wind brushing over his alt mode and thought maybe wind on his skin would be the same. It was different, but the closest Skull could get to the wind rushing over his alt form and so he kept coming back.

The joke had quickly gained popularity when Skull found that his past experience as Jazz and his genius mind (another side effect from Jazz- his mind was used to running much, much quicker as a mech and wasn't it funny that he had once called his brain a computer- and had compensated in the only way it could by making him a genius) meant that Skull could and did do stunts others would call 'impossible'.

Skull could control the vehicle, he could control his body, he could even set up the environment to his advantage…but Skull wasn't omniscient and couldn't account for everything. He had known every time he got on his bike or into a car that _this_ could be his last stunt. This could be the day he messed up.

Except the day comes and _something_ happens.

Skull wasn't sure _what_ had happened. All he knew was he was on his bike, seconds from a record setting stunt, when something goes wrong just as he leaves the ramp, and he's flying through the air, his bike is plummeting towards the ground, people are screaming, and Skull's genius mind is telling him _exactly_ what the landing is going to do to his very fragile, not metal, very organic body.

He wasn't ready to die.

He should have died.

Everything he had calculated and seen told him he _should_ have died.

Except he didn't.

He erupted into purple flames instead.

O~O~O~

Skull stares at the purple flames coating his hands and has the thought that if he had still been a mech this would have made his processor glitch.

He had stood up from that stunt in shock, but hiding it with all the skills he remembered from his vorns of being head of Special Ops, milking the crowd and spewing some crap about being 'the Great Skull who was so hated by the Grim Reaper he was kicked back from hell' the moment he realized no one seemed to see the flames that had saved his life.

When he had gotten back to his home it was only then that he had allowed his shock to the surface, pulling on the flames that had saved his life.

Perhaps that would have been the end of it, but Melody had been in the crowd and recognized what had saved him. She had followed him back to his trailer and demanded he let her inside. When Skull had refused, Melody had simply broken in. (It was something that had driven Skull nuts for years- no matter _how_ good he was at securing his home Melody _always_ seemed to be two steps ahead of him and had always been able to work her way around his security or break in anyway. The part of him that was Jazz was torn between being impressed with her and being pissed he couldn't keep a tiny organic out of his things when she _really_ wanted into them.)

The only thing that stopped Skull from freaking out about the invasion was the fact that Melody was _his_ , and he trusted the woman, as well as the fact that she had been holding her hands out to him as soon as she came into view.

Hands coated in bright, _bright_ ruby flames edged with a bit of indigo.

"I know what you did." She told him softly "and I think it's time I explain some things to you."

And so it was that Skull learned of the Mafia and Omerta, of Flames and their attributes. How Skull learned of the Vindice, and what his Cloud Flames could do. How Skull learned about the personality types that tended to have a particular Flame and what Inverted and Classic Flames were as well as what it meant to be Active Flame users versus an Internal Flame user. (Active could manifest and _use_ their Flames- were aware of them. Internal users never had to even _know_ they had Flames. Everything they did with them was inside the body and often the user wasn't even aware they were doing anything)

Skull spent a long few minutes laughing when he realized _why_ Melody had always encouraged his sneaky ways as a child- she was a part of the Mafia as a freelancer and had recognized the skills he had when she had been looking for an apprentice. (He laughed some more when he realized she had taken _him_ on as that apprentice without ever actually saying that was what she was doing. And that it was _his own fault_ since it had been him to ask for the dancing lessons that started it all and _he himself_ that kept coming back for more.)

Skull knows that if Melody had realized what would happen to him not even a year later she would have hidden him away. (The woman had told him as much when he had come to her after the Fated Day.)

O~O~O~

Checkerface sets off every _one_ of Jazz's hard earned instincts. Everything about the man was _wrong_.

Which of course meant Jazz was going to get as close as he could manage to figure out what the man was doing. So it was that Skull met those who would become the Seven Strongest as he worked with them for each job Checkerface passed along.

Later Skull will _laugh_. His war-born need to _know_ had been the very thing that caused him to walk into the Curse. His need to get close enough to figure out why Checkerface set his instincts off was the very thing that allowed the man to reduce him to a cursed infant with an adult's mind.

O~O~O~

Jazz travels the world of Flames for thirty years as a cursed infant, all the while feeling the Allspark grow in power inside himself. He learns to enjoy the company of the Arcobaleno in various ways, but he never grows to _trust_ them the way he trusted his Autobot family. (Not that he didn't trust the Arcobaleno- he just didn't trust people he had only known for 50-ish years the way he trusted the mechs and femmes he had worked with and known for longer than the Earth existed.) Adding in the fact that Luce hadn't _truly_ pulled him in as a Sky was meant to call a Guardian…that he had never harmonized to the woman, for all that he had guarded her… Well. He was a little apart from the others. Not excluded, but not quite _part_ of the group either. He was a cloud circling a Sky who was _almost but not quite_ what he needed.

And then the time comes that Jazz learns of what Luce had hidden from the Arcobaleno. He learns that she had _seen_ what was to come, and chosen _for_ them what their fate would be. She had chosen to ignore the fact she was surrounded by some of the brightest minds in the world and make choices without thought. When he learns of her betrayal, that she had _seen_ what was to come and allowed it to pass without even a warning Jazz rages.

It is the first time the Arcobaleno witness the famous Cloud Temper in the laid back Inverted Cloud, the first time the silver tongue of Jazz was turned against any of them, the first time any of the Arcobaleno _**honestly realize**_ that Skull has the mind of a genius saboteur as he lays into the woman and points out every way he could think of that the whole mess could have been avoided or changed, points out lists of ways the situation could have been better handled (especially if she could see the future) and the various ways it could _still_ go horridly wrong despite what had already been done to them.

(Jazz's best friend had been _the_ best tactician in the Universe for longer than the Earth had existed- something had to have rubbed off on him over the vorns- and he could see all the things that could have gone wrong and all the things that could _still_ go wrong without much effort)

He had growled about her being a Sky to some of the best minds the world could offer and _how_ could she have _not_ asked for their help to solve the problem rather than letting them walk into a trap and a curse?

Skull had stormed from the room at the end of his rage leaving silence and shock in his wake as his genius mind was truly exposed to the Arcobaleno for the first time alongside his temper. (The fact that the odd accent the man had had as long as they had known him had disappeared was off-putting as well.)

O~O~O~

Over the years of the shared curse Skull learns to trust the Arcobaleno. Not in the same way he trusted the Autobots and Optimus (who- if Jazz thought about it- would most likely be his Sky in this world), but he learns.

The Arcobaleno in turn learn to trust him.

They learn that when he speaks English he has one of the oddest accents they had ever heard- odder then the hints of it they had heard while he spoke Japanese. They learn that he has his own cursing system of odd words (they still weren't sure why he cursed using things like 'frag', 'slag' or 'pit' rather than conventional curses, but the first time Reborn curses like him ('What the frag are you doing?') Skull laughs for a full five minutes while Reborn looks horrified with himself.) They learn Skull really _is_ a genius that he knows more languages then most people look at in a lifetime, that the man _**loves**_ music and can dance with the best of them no matter the genre. They learn that he almost compulsively spies for information (He and Viper have a competition going and Skull's glad to say he's in the lead- of course he _does_ have billions of years' worth of experience as Jazz over Viper no matter that the woman thinks she's older then him) from _everyone_ and that he's got the biggest blackmail collection they had ever seen. They learn to trust that for all his spying and blackmail Skull will, would, and _had_ watched out for the other Arcobaleno; that Skull would not _use_ the knowledge he gathered unless the retribution was _earned_ (Verde swore to never 'earn' a punishment from Skull ever again after the first. For all the man was laidback he was _dangerous_ when stirred into motion.)

They learn the little quirks, and how sometimes when Skull looks at them his eyes look _old_ in a way none of them can explain.

O~O~O~

When Skull meets Tsunayoshi his instincts _hum_.

He isn't sure why, but the fact they take notice at all means Skull watches the boy carefully. He's a bit surprised when he finds he likes the boy.

The way the boy always seems to panic and run around like a glitch mouse from a turbo-cat only to turn and face the threats around him head on reminds him a little of Sam.

Of the human boy who panicked and flailed, who had no idea what to do with 'giant robots' all interested in him only to buck up anyway and get them the glasses, save Bumblebee from Sector Seven, and face war at their side.

When the time comes that the curse is reversed by the boy's hand Skull finds he isn't _quite_ as surprised as he could have been.

What _**was**_ surprising to him was the Allspark's reaction after the curse was removed.

He felt its power flare sharply, and jerked a little with surprise. The next thing he did was subtly slip away from the crowd trying not to give any sign of the energy surging inside while he was anywhere near the group's sightline. Once he was out of sight, Skull allowed himself to stagger a little.

The surges were getting worse.

He wasn't sure what was happening, but he figured if the Allspark flared for any reason he should really _not_ be in the middle of a crowd.

Later, Skull would look back on this moment, and laugh. He would laugh because he should have _known_ what would happen. If he hadn't been so distracted by the Allspark reacting as it was after so long he _would_ have realized what would happen.

As it was, Skull was very uncomfortable and distracted as he tried to figure out what was happening with the Allspark and so he missed what should have been obvious.

Then the pain hit and he dropped to his knees, his back arching, but not a sound escaping him out of habit. When the sound of rushing footsteps reached him Skull looked up and found the Arcobaleno around him. Each reached out to touch him, and Skull could do nothing as he arched under the next wave of Allspark energy.

His eyed widened as the Arcobaleno stiffened and dropped, their hands tightening their grips on his arms and shoulders.

The world flared blue.

And then there was a voice.

" _ **I made you a promise Jazz. It is time. Come home."**_

O~O~O~

Jazz comes online slowly. He's tired and everything aches. He sort of feels like he went a few rounds with Megatron. (He snorts at himself.)

Everything is sluggish to respond at first, but as he reboots systems, defrags, and works his way through all his programs everything starts moving better, and speeding up. Jazz grunts softly as he sits up, turning his visor online.

He gasps as the world comes into focus. _Primus_ he had forgotten how _much_ he could see as a bot. He'd known he was comparatively _blind_ as a human, but he'd been able to adjust and shove that knowledge away. Now he could see again, and it was _glorious_.

His processor was moving quickly as well, and Jazz was glad to note it. He may have been a genius as a human, but even then his mind hadn't worked as fast or as well as his processor was able. He had _missed_ this body. Even the 50 odd years of being Skull hadn't changed it. 50 years was nothing compared to the _millennia_ he had spent as 'Jazz'- it wasn't even a full vorn- so while he had adjusted to being Skull, he had never truly gotten _used_ to being human.

He pushed himself to his pedes, looking around instinctively and coming to a halt.

Oh.

Oh no.

His gaze remained frozen on the pile of collapsed organics beside him in shock.

 _How had the Arcobaleno gotten here?_

O~O~O~

Jazz ran through fifty plans in a second as he stared at the unconscious bodies, bodies that were _fully grown_ and no longer cursed to child form.

Everything he thought of in that second ended with the Arcobaleno trying to shoot and kill him before they heard him out. And considering Jazz had _no idea_ what their Flames would do to his robotic body that would be a bad idea. Let them figure that out on Decepticons.

He absently wished he could just transform into 'Skull' so he could talk to them face to face and explain. In the next second he was shocked as his transformation protocols kicked in and seconds later he was standing beside the Arcobaleno as an adult version of Skull and blinking in shock.

His processor noted a new 'weapon program' and as he absently tried to figure out what the program was, he was once more surprised to see 'Cloud Flames' as the answer. (This had to be a record. Heads of Special Ops did _not_ get surprised. And certainly not multiple times in five minutes.)

He moved to check the Arcobaleno's state and found that they were all simply unconscious. _"What happened?"_

" _ **That would be the fault of the Allspark and myself."**_

Jazz twitched lightly at the voice. _"Oh? How so?"_

" _ **The Allspark regenerated years ago, but the curse you were placed under in that world prevented it from reacting to bring you home. The moment you were released from it, the Allspark reacted quickly and with all the built up energy it had. The other Arcobaleno simply had the luck to grab you as the Allspark was ripping a…ah…the closest word is 'portal' back here. It saw your human form as an asset and acted to allow you to keep it as a mech only after it worked to age you properly to your prime from the child state the curse had left you in. Since the other Arcobaleno were in contact with you when the Allspark reacted they too were aged to their primes, and when you were pulled through by myself the Arcobaleno came with you."**_

Jazz stared at the nearest tree and cursed. "Well frag."

" _ **I am not sure exactly how their bodies will react to Allspark energy being used on them since they have Flames and are not Cybertronian in nature as you are."**_ The voice warned _**"I can tell you they are human still though they may age differently than most. They already aged slower due to their Flames' strength- having the Allspark specifically messing with their aging process probably changed how it worked. Not to mention the time difference between their world and this one. The time of this world moves slower than the one they came from."**_

" _How do you even know about Flames and their effects on aging? And how large of a time difference are we talking about?"_

" _ **I watched over you in the other world so I would be ready to pull you back to your proper place when the time came. I learned as you learned, and what I missed the Allspark learned and so I too learned. As for the time difference…you spent just about fifty years in their world…here…here it has been only two."**_

Reborn stirred from his unconscious state, pulling Jazz's attention to him even as he reeled a little over the knowledge of how little time had passed for his family then for him. Nothing gave Reborn's wakening away- not his breathing patterns, not a single movement, not even his heartbeat, but Jazz's scans picked up increased brain activity and as good as the hitman was, he couldn't hide that sign from him.

Jazz didn't call the hitman out on it though, instead he started grumbling to himself about 'stupid people not waiting even a day to call him back' and walked around the Arcobaleno as he continued to grumble about 'dragging in people who weren't involved in his mess.'

It was his way of letting Reborn know the only people around him were safe, as well as allowing the hitman to feel like he was learning what happened.

"Skull…" Reborn growled as he sat up and Jazz turned to stare at the Sun user.

"Reborn." He returned the greeting "wait fer th' oth'rs ta wake an' Ah will answer questions then. Until then- call me Jazz."

Reborn frowned but fell silent. It only took a few more minutes for the others to wake up and soon enough Jazz found himself surrounded by the Arcobaleno all staring him down for answers.

His lips twitched with amusement. They would never quite reach the level of threatening needed to truly get Jazz to answer by glaring. (Only Optimus and Prowl had that particular honor and even that had more to do with their state as Jazz's family then the glares themselves, and the fact that Jazz didn't _like_ making the two in question honestly angry.) "Alrigh'." He sighed. "We are about ta have a discussion that ya'll _will not like_ " he warned them "because it goes agains' mos' of yer beliefs in one way or another."

Jazz knew he would have to explain some things as he stared at the humans around him. They had been taken out of their _entire world_ because of him. The least he could do was provide them the knowledge they would need to flourish in his. And if he could help it, he would bring them with him to the Autobots. They were his responsibility now anyway.

"Mah name…is Jazz. Ah died here two years ago before Ah was meant ta. Because of tha' Ah was offered a choice and Ah was reborn ta yer world as the human known as 'Skull'. As Ah aged in yer world Ah remembered mah life as Jazz and th' reason Ah was reborn ta yer world in th' firs' place." Jazz paused for a second and could feel the disbelief. That was alright though- he'd prove he wasn't lying eventually.

"Th' source of mah peoples' life an' energy had been damaged. Ah was meant ta stay in yer world only long enough fer it ta recuperate" his processor provided him multiple reasons their world could have been chosen of all the others and Jazz decided to share them despite not being sure they were the actual reasons. His instincts said they were "because of th' time difference between the two worlds an' Flames' abilities. Fer ev'ry 25 years in yer time, one year passed in mine. Combine tha' wit' th' propagation ability of mah Cloud Flames speedin' up th' recovery of th' Allspark an' it was a good choice." Jazz shrugged. "Ah was promised tha' if Ah allowed the Allspark ta use mah body as a 'temple' and protection as it 'healed' from th' damage it took Ah would be able ta come back to mah world alive. If Ah had turned th' offer down I would have moved on. Ah chose ta be reborn so Ah could come back."

"Ah should have been back years ago, but then th' Curse happened and it interfered wit' th' process. Th' Allspark was prevented from helpin' meh get back ta mah world so long tha' when it could th' energy released was painful and violent. Tha' was wha' ya saw before. Why Ah collapsed an' wha' shocked ya'll when ya grabbed meh. Only ya'll weren't supposed ta touch meh righ' then. Th' fact ya did means tha' ya'll were dragged wit' meh when Ah was pulled back."

"What the hell Skull?" Colonnello's voice was loud in the silence. "You expect us to believe that?"

Jazz shrugged "Ah'd prefer tha' ya call meh Jazz. And Ah'm only tellin' ya th' truth."

"Reincarnation." Viper spoke up, her voice soft but loud "is one thing. I know that exists and so do the others. Vongola's Mist brat is walking proof of it. But you are talking of different _worlds_. Of beings powerful enough to stop you from dying and then transport you from one world to another. Of Gods."

Jazz watched Viper as she spoke and then nodded "Ah am." He knew how insane he would sound to them as he spoke. He knew this would be tough for all of them to accept. He also knew of one sure fire way to make them believe in the existence of other worlds even if they all took issue with the existence of Gods.

"That is illogical." Verde spoke from his place and Jazz turned his eyes to the scientist.

"As illogical as ya gettin' yer adult bodies back in yer sleep. As illogical as we thought a Man in an Iron Hat takin' our adult forms was in th' firs' place? As illogical as Civilians would think Flames ta be? As illogical as an illusionist simply willin' somethin' ta be an' then havin' it happen? _That_ illogical?" Jazz rose an eyebrow as he stared at the Arcobaleno around him. They stared back. He sighed.

Fine. Shock factor it was.

"Alrigh'." He nodded. "Ah can prove it." He started walking away from the group only telling them "Stay there. Ah don' wanna hurt ya." The Arcobaleno watched him skeptically and he smirked to himself, making sure the whole incident was being recorded for later. "Do no' shoot meh or Ah will be very unhappy." He warned before he triggered his transformation.

He made sure it was slow, so they could watch and really _absorb_ what was happening in front of them. And when it was over, Jazz towered over the humans on the ground at 18feet. When he looked at them his smirked a little. They were _all_ gaping at him in one way or another and he could see Verde's hands twitching with an instant and powerful urge poke and prod and explore even as he watched Reborn's hands twitch for a Chaos Shot much like most of the others.

He knelt down so he could better be on the Arcobaleno's level. "Mah name is Jazz. Ah am part of a race called Cybertronians from th' planet Cybertron an' a member of th' faction called Autobot. Decepticons are th' other faction and they will kill ya. If ya see a bot like meh who has red optics" he taped his visor to show he meant eyes "run. They will kill ya without hesitation. Blue optics are a part of mah faction and generally they will help ya. Sometimes tha' isn't th' case an' a red optic or blue optic could beh good or bad or a different color optic will beh involved but generally tha' is wha' happens." He shrugged as he gave then a quick rundown "Ah need ta fin' mah family now tha' Ah am here though…"

Jazz transformed again- still going as slowly as he could so the others could stare all they liked- stopping in his alt mode of a silver Pontiac Solstice and throwing the doors open. "so are ya comin' or not?" his voice came from the speakers of his alt mode sounding amused and daring as he wiggled his doors tauntingly.

Some very creative use of Subspace technology and rearranging some things had allowed him to create enough seats for Reborn, Verde, Fon, Colonnello, Lal, Yuni, and Viper to fit inside his alt mode though it was uncomfortable for him and would be a bit crowded for them. Jazz made a note to _not_ do this unless it was necessary after he found the other Autobots.

It took a few minutes of Jazz sitting there, wiggling a door tauntingly a few times, before Fon moved to climb into the car. Reborn was on his heels and the others followed after them. Eventually Yuni, Lal, Colonnello, Verde and Viper had squeezed into the backseats that usually were _not_ in Jazz's alt form at all while Reborn and Fon claimed the driver's and passenger's side seats that usually were the only seats Jazz had.

Jazz automatically closed the doors, seatbelts sliding over each of the Arcobaleno as Jazz started his engine and began driving. He could feel each of the Arcobaleno jerk in surprise no matter how minute the movement at his actions, and smirked.

He couldn't _wait_ for them to meet Optimus or Ironhide.

The thought almost made Jazz laugh. That was going to be _fun_. He wondered if Ironhide would pull out the cannons…and if the Arcobaleno would stop their instinctive reaction to that if he did.

"Relax" he spoke from his radio to the car full of people "Ah won't hurt any of ya and we ain't gonna crash. Even if we _did_ mah armor can take a beatin' a lot better than a normal car anyway. Ya'll won't get more than a bruise while ridin' wit' meh."

The car was silent before Yuni's voice broke it. "You're a robot…that turns into a car…who can look like a human." She sounded like a feather could knock her over.

"Th' terms are mechs fer males and femmes for females- robot is offensive. It's like callin' a human a monkey. Ah'm a mech that has an alt mode or alternative mode tha' allows meh ta change inta a car ta better blend on Earth. Th' human thing is new though. Th' Allspark apparently thought it would be a good reward or somethin' fer meh ta keep the human form Ah took while on yer planet. So Ah can change from bipedal form- tha' is th' 'robot' form ya saw earlier- ta my alt mode- this car- and back into 'Skull'." Jazz explained as he continued to drive through the streets around himself while stretching his sensors and scanners to the limit. He wanted to find the others and he was hoping the Allspark had pulled him somewhere close by.

If all else failed, at least he knew where to find Sam.

O~O~O~

As it turns out, Jazz doesn't need to find anyone.

Decepticons find _him._

O~O~O~

FOREIGN LIFE SIGN DETECTED.

FACTION: DECEPTICON

Jazz speeds up as the alert comes to his HUD, the seatbelts holding the Arcobaleno in place tightening minutely.

IDENTITY: UNKNOWN

Jazz curses.

His scanners were _good_ , and as Head of Special Ops, he knew most of the Decepticon forces in one way or another. At the very least Jazz could generally identify them on his scanner. An _unknown_ signal was _bad news_. It meant there was somebody _new_ in the ranks and new meant Jazz didn't know what he was getting into if he was attacked.

Normally that wouldn't be an issue- Jazz would in fact _relish_ the challenge of an unknown opponent that he could test himself against while learning their ways and compiling a file on them. The issue was that Jazz had a car full of organics that had _no idea_ what they were getting into that Jazz wanted to make sure came out of this well and alive.

"Hold on" he growled over the speakers, his seatbelts tightening even more across the Arcobaleno's chests as he picked up the unknown signal getting closer to their location "this is about ta get bumpy. If Ah tell ya to get out- _get out as fast as ya can._ "

"Sku—Jazz? What's happening?" Yuni's voice was tense with worry.

"We're abou' ta have company."

Jazz was forced to brake sharply after the warning, picking up the unknown Decepticon signal as it barreled towards his side. It was close- the nose of his alt mode brushed against the door of the sky blue and silver Bugatti Jazz knew to be a Decepticon.

The Bugatti screeched around, but Jazz was already barreling away from the 'Con as quickly as he could manage. He could feel how tense the Arcobaleno had gotten in his seats at the near miss but he was focused to take evasive maneuvers as he barreled down the stretch of highway in front of him. (It was strangely deserted but Jazz had been ignoring that.)

He cursed to himself. Autobot communication channels were a no-go, having been changed or encrypted since the last time Jazz had used them. He could hack into them given enough time, but with a 'Con on his tail of unknown abilities, an alt full of passengers, and no idea how close or far any Autobots would be (not to mention the fact they thought he was _dead_ and any time he would need to take to convince whoever answered he _was_ Jazz and not a Decepticon trap) Jazz didn't have the time to manage it while fighting.

O~O~O~

The second time a plasma blast got too close for comfort, Jazz had enough. The seatbelts holding the Arcobaleno- all of them pale and gripping whatever part of his interior they could get ahold of- clicked off. "Get ready." He warned them "Ah'm gonna need ya ta get out as quick as ya can when Ah stop."

He was going to _deal_ with this one way or another.

He poured on every ounce of speed he could manage, pulling away from the Bugatti. As soon as he knew he had enough space, Jazz drifted to a stop, doors flying open and blessing the quickness of Mafia-trained bodies as the Arcobaleno piled out of his alt mode within seconds.

In the next two seconds Jazz had gunned his way _towards_ the Bugatti, triggering his transformation and continuing his forward momentum effortlessly. The Bugatti saw him coming and triggered its own transformation sequence, and it was two mechs that crashed together over the highway in front of the Arcobaleno's eyes. (More than one set of hands reached for weapons despite not being sure what their weapons would do to a mech)

Jazz twisted effortlessly, gripping the wrist of the mech that was reaching for him pulling sharply. The mech was forced to follow the motion of Jazz's twist and flew over Jazz's shoulder, but as he hit the ground he rolled to his pedes.

Jazz was forced to take a few quick steps back as the mech turned his way and lashed out. He took a moment to wish he had everything in his subspace that had been there before he died. Unfortunately coming back to life didn't seem to cover his personal belongings. The only thing he had were the weapons installed on his person. (Deadly and not all of them exactly _normal_ , but Jazz would love to have one of his Viral Daggers all the same)

Jazz lunged over another attack, tackling the mech to the floor where they grappled with each other for a few moments. The mech was taller than Jazz (most bots were) and a bit bulkier. He had an advantage in mass and weight, but Jazz was creative and careful- he had experience in _droves_ for fighting bots of larger mass and/or height than himself- and he aimed for places he knew would hurt.

Jazz was forced to spring away, rolling to his pedes as the mech pulled a knife of his own from his subspace. Jazz took a moment to be glad the mech hadn't started firing weapons- if he had the chances of the Arcobaleno getting hit were high.

He shifted his stance, his visor glowing with the rush of the fight. "Who're ya Decepticon?"

"Oh?" the voice was deep almost a purr. "You don't know who I am? I feel accomplished…my designation is Shadowstep."

Jazz added the name to his databanks even as he shifted his stance. In the next few seconds Jazz was darting forward and flipping around Shadowstep's mass, the magnetic pulses of Jazz's servos and pedes allowing him to momentarily stick to Shadowstep's frame as he got to the mech's back.

Jazz was quick to reach forward, ripping at wires and lines. Shadowstep roared reacting instantly as he reached back to get at Jazz. Jazz was too experienced for the mech to reach him properly, so Shadowstep chose to drop backwards.

Jazz saw the move coming seconds before it happened, and he released the magnetic pulses holding him to Shadowstep's frame, shoving off the frame and away from the mech.

Getting pinned beneath the bigger mech was _not_ something Jazz wanted to deal with.

Jazz landed on his pedes, and Shadowstep- having been forced forwards when Jazz shoved off his back- rolled forward and up to his own pedes where he whipped around and shot a plasma blast.

Jazz dodged the shot with a curse, hoping the Arcobaleno were smart enough to _get out of the way_ as he returned fire.

O~O~O~

When Jazz heard the sirens he erupted into curses, absolutely sure Barricade was about to join in the fight.

From Shadowstep's smirk the Decepticon- who was missing pieces of armor, had other pieces smashed and dented and was leaking Energon in a few places as well as the lines and wires Jazz had ripped free while on his back- was sure it was Barricade as well.

Needless to say, when _Prowl_ barreled into Shadowstep both the fighting mechs were surprised.

Jazz jerked back, surprised to see the mech he had known since he was a youngling when he (and Shadowstep) was sure Barricade was about to crash the party.

His optic ridge rose in surprise as he took in the viciousness Prowl was using against the Decepticon. He'd only seen Prowl that angry once or twice in the many, _**many**_ vorns he had known the mech.

"Jazz!?"

Jazz turned his head to see who had called him, coming optic-to-visor with a shocked Ironhide. He lifted a servo in greeting calling back "It's a long crazy story! Ah'll 'xplain later!" even as he lunged forward to join Prowl, easily falling into the rhythm the two had shared any time they were on a battlefield.

With the unexpected reinforcements the Decepticon was pushed back and overwhelmed easily- and when Barricade _did_ show up alongside a few others they too were easily dealt with.

When it all came to an end, Jazz swayed on his pedes. He had had low Energon stores since his arrival back in his world. Fighting with those low stores on top of _losing_ some of them from his injuries meant Jazz was getting multiple warnings on his HUD about imminent stasis lock.

He ignored the warnings and turned towards the Arcobaleno, having tracked them with his sensors since they got out of his alt mode. He didn't take a step towards them- very aware of Ratchet storming his way and the hazard to his health that would be-instead making a 'come here' motion with his servo and calling out that it was alright.

He swayed in place again and then Prowl was there, slowly lowering him down to the ground even as he scanned him. Jazz smiled up at the mech "Hey Prowler."

"Jazz" the tactician greeted him without mentioning the nickname even as the earth shook slightly as Ratchet ran up, having sped up the moment Jazz was on the ground. "You were dead."

Jazz smirked tiredly as his emergency protocols shut down now that he felt he was safe "Ah was. Primus took matters inta his own hands." Jazz glanced over Prowl's shoulder to grin "Hey Ratchet."

Ratchet was scowling at him even as he started pulling out tools "You half-clocked son of a glitch!" the mech snarled at him even as his servos were gentle tending to the injuries leaking Energon.

Jazz grinned a little wider, his visor dim with his tiredness. He had missed the medic and his bedside manner. As Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet, and Sideswipe gathered around him all of them showing signs of shock the grin turned into a tired smile. He'd missed them all.

Running footsteps pulled all optics to the side as the Arcobaleno ran to Jazz. They were all tense, fingers itching for their weapons, but trusting that Jazz had told them it was alright as they approached. "These guys are wit' meh." Jazz told the mechs around him tiredly "So make sure they get ta come back wit' us, yeah?" he waited until he got nods from each of the others before he turned to Ratchet. "When Ah wake up, Ah'll explain ev'ry thin'."

Jazz stopped fighting the imminent stasis lock, allowing it to take over. His visor dimmed and then blackened as his body locked into place. Ratchet cursed and the Arcobaleno tensed.

O~O~O~

Optimus Prime was a mech who could take surprises. He had to be, with his position. He was even good at making surprises work to his and his Autobots' favor.

When the alert for Decepticon activity came in, Optimus mobilized his troops. When the alert let him know that an unknown bot was fighting the Decepticon in question Optimus moved quicker. And then the alert came in the other Decepticons were converging on the unknown bot and the other Decepticon rapidly.

Optimus sent Ratchet, Ironhide, Sideswipe and Prowl ahead. As a medic two heavy hitters and a tactician Optimus was sure that team could handle whatever was ahead of them without issue until the Optimus and the humans caught up.

When the constant chatter over the com lines from the others (complaints as well as reports of what lay ahead) fell completely silent Optimus worried.

And then Ironhide yelled over the lines **"Prowl** _ **no**_ **!"** and Optimus felt his spark squeeze in his chassis. The next few minutes Optimus listened to the com lines with increasing worry.

Ironhide's whispered **"It's** _ **impossible.**_ **"**

Ratchet erupting into curses the way he did when someone was seriously hurt or something went very, very wrong.

Prowl being utterly silent in a way that was very unlike the tactician who would usually be reporting to Prime about the situation.

Sideswipe whispering **"No fragging way…"**

It was no surprise when Optimus sped up calling commands to the humans to 'catch up' and that they 'had a situation up ahead'.

And then Prime got a com from Ratchet **"Prime, we need you here for transport. I've got a mech in stasis lock and humans that need to come with."**

His spark twisted a little more as he answered his longtime friend **"Who is it Ratchet?"**

The line was silent for a klik and Optimus worried before Ratchet answered **"I don't know how it is possible. I held his pieces in my servos. I put his body back together…but Prime…it's Jazz."**

Optimus swerved a little with his shock before he poured on the speed tracking his mechs' signals as he asked **"Are you certain?"**

" **As certain as I can be. His signature is a little off, like something has been** _ **added**_ **which is why we did not recognize the signature on base, but…"**

It only took Optimus a few more moments to arrive beside his mechs with his speed, and he transformed as he moved, easily continuing his forward motion. He took in the group of humans clustered together but his optics were focused on the silver mech laying in front of Ratchet.

" _Jazz_." His whisper was shocked and disbelieving. It _looked_ like his Third in Command, but Optimus could see what Ratchet meant. The signature, the signal Jazz gave off was different. Something was different…but his instincts still said this mech _was_ Jazz.

Optimus pulled back transforming down, the trailer bed he toted around in his subspace easily hitching up to his back, as he called through the speakers "Get him up. We'll take him back to base and go from there. Ironhide- you will be on watch with him until we are sure it is actually Jazz and not an imposter." His attention drifted to the tense humans and he spoke to them "You may ride with me" he opened his doors in invitation "until we get to base. My name is Optimus Prime and I am the leader of the Autobots."

The Arcobaleno were tense and unhappy. This was a lot of things happening too closely together. But Jazz- Skull- trusted these mechs. Had told them it was alright. They were still tense, but they trusted their Cloud enough to walk forward and climb into the semi offering them a ride.

(Besides, they still had their weapons, and their Flames. They were the Strongest Seven and they had their adult bodies back. If anything happened they could get out and cause some damage on the way. They weren't sure how they would get their Cloud out of the mess if that happened, but they'd deal with it when it happened and be careful until then.)

O~O~O~

For Jazz consciousness came back suddenly. One moment he was recharging the next he was awake. He recognized his surroundings immediately. (The walls had changed, and the color was different, but Jazz would _always_ know this smell and the sounds that came with it.) He was in the Med Bay.

His optics drifted to the side and sure enough…Ratchet was there, his back to Jazz and he fiddled with something out of Jazz's sight. He knew he had already been seen to by the medic, instantly aware that his tanks had been filled and he was no longer on the edge of stasis lock thanks to a lack of Energon.

"Ratchet." Jazz called to the medic, who turned at the sound of his voice immediately. Jazz can see the suspicion in his optics. He can see smothered hope. He can see anger, and pain.

And Jazz knows why that is. He knows the pain of losing someone, and he knows that Ratchet refused to believe that Jazz is _Jazz._ That he is refusing to _hope_ in a world where miracles were in such short supply.

Jazz smiles at the medic and is so, so glad that for once, Jazz can prove miracles happen.

"Can ya bring Optimus here? Ah have somethin' fer him and it will 'xplain everthin'."

Jazz can feel the buzz of a com going out, but makes no moves to hack into it as he waits.

When the door opens Optimus comes into the Med Bay holding the Arcobaleno in one servo- all of which are tense in one way or another. Jazz smiles at them and beckons them closer, offering his own servo to take the humans.

He doesn't even have to reach all the way. As soon as the servos are close enough, the Arcobaleno jump the distance effortlessly. (Jazz hears the noise Ratchet makes at the sight of it. For normal humans the distance was too much to jump from a standstill, but Flames strengthen and change the body so they make it.)

Jazz sits up on his berth before he sets the humans down onto his thigh-plating.

After a moment of silence where the three bots in the room meet optics, Optimus speaks "Report."

Jazz feels himself straighten up instinctively at the command before he speaks "Ah—" Jazz pauses before he speaks again. This time he speaks without his accent, acknowledging the seriousness and importance of the situation in a way the bots in front of him will recognize.

"I know you don't believe I'm me right now. I don't blame you." His servo lifted to press against his frame where he had been ripped in half "I remember dying. Mechs don't usually come back from the dead- you have every reason to be hesitant and suspicious." He had seen the security measures all over the med bay, and he was sure Ironhide was right outside the doors, maybe one of the Gladiator Twins. He knew they hadn't taken unnecessary risks no matter that they had taken him to base (or somewhere close by) to heal him.

"Primus intervened with my death. Sent me to another world so I could do something for him. Only something went wrong while I was there and I ended up Cursed. It prevented me from coming back as quickly as I would have otherwise. I spent 50 years in their" he gestured at the Arcobaleno "world versus the two years that passed here."

"And what was the task you did?"

Jazz reached up towards his chest, willing the panels and things to slide open. He heard multiple breaths catch. The Arcobaleno because they had never seen a spark before, and the mechs because they knew the trust it took to expose a spark to anyone. He almost smirked. He was about to shock them some more.

Jazz carefully reached beneath his spark and then behind it. It took him a moment to figure out how to pull it free from its hiding place, but after a moment Jazz pulled his prize free. His servo curled protectively around his prize as he reached out for Optimus and turned his servo over, opening his palm.

Primus had made some changes to the Allspark to allow Jazz to carry it without damage so close to his spark. One of which was that Jazz could carry it at all, the other was the sizing of it so that it would fit.

That didn't stop the very audible rattling of armor in Cybertronian shock nor the more recent human reaction of gasping that the mechs had picked up at the sight of the Allspark.

"I was told to shelter the energy of the Allspark as it regenerated." Jazz answered the question, his accent still absent "And that in return for this I would be returned to my home whole and living."

Jazz glanced down at the Arcobaleno staring wide eyed and stock still at the Allspark in his palm "They were an accident. They came along due to their contact with me when the Allspark and Primus began to pull me back…but they are my friends and I trust them with my life."

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 **This is very, very AU. Skull having Jazz's life in his head- the life of a Head of Special Ops and the Third in Command of the Autobots, who have been at war longer then the Earth has existed- changed a** _ **lot**_ **of how the Arcobaleno react to Skull.**

 **Likely I will post short drabbles and one shots that cover some of that, as well as the aftermath of Jazz coming back and what will happen with the Arcobaleno, but I'm marking this as complete anyway. SO ALERT/FAV it to be notified about the new chapters. (I've hit 24 pages almost 25, it's time break this up XDD)**


	2. Chapter 2

The first day the Arcobaleno meet Skull, they are confused.

This is supposed to be a civilian. Someone unknown and clueless.

Except he's not.

He's _dangerous_ , a fighter, a soldier, a _survivor_ and it is in every move that he makes. Oh the man looks relaxed, acts relaxed and for all intents and purposes would have passed as relaxed if the Arcobaleno were not who they were.

They can _sense_ the danger contained in the Cloud no matter that he appears entirely relaxed leaning back in his chair with his feet on the table. Nothing gives the Cloud away, not even to their experienced eyes- which is a red flag in and of itself-but they have honed their instincts for years.

And their instincts call the Cloud _dangerous_ despite all appearances to the contrary.

So they treat him with a distant respect even as they make sure to keep him in their line of sight.

When the Man in the Iron Hat arrives, they see the lightning quick flash of cunning curiosity and they know they had been right to watch the man.

O~O~O~

After the Curse has been applied, and the Arcobaleno-to-be become the cursed infants they will spend the next long while as they learn of some of that danger.

Skull is furious- they can see it, but it is _controlled_ in a way most Clouds never are. It is then that they put the pieces together and realize Skull is an Inverted Cloud and all the more dangerous for it. With Classics their tempers and habits are well known, are expected and able to be planned around in most cases.

Inverted Clouds have no 'classic' behaviors. They are individual in the most dangerous of ways. They carry the Classic tempers, but have none of the same triggers, and their rage when triggered is more dangerous, more focused. Like a hunter.

And Skull is angry now, is planning a hunt.

O~O~O~

Skull is like a ghost.

They have never heard of the man before the Fated Day and yet somehow the Cloud had Connections (the capital being completely justified and earned) and he is gathering information even Viper has trouble finding. It makes the others a little nervous, because Viper is known as a very expensive, very reliable Information Broker. Before this, they would have called the woman the best- and yet an unknown is gathering information better, quicker, then she is. Information Viper can't even _find._

The man is _not_ a Civilian no matter _what_ the information they had been provided said.

O~O~O

They do come to learn quickly that the Cloud- despite being laid back in most cases, relaxed, is a genius. He looks at them and he pulls them apart. He reads them the way most people read the newspaper.

No matter how well their masks are built, no matter how through they had been in regards to hiding themselves, they are not good enough to hide from him. They had thought it a Bluff- that he had information of them- but when the Civilian-Who-Is-Not-Civilian opens his mouth and provides information- privately to each of the Arcobaleno- that no one should know…it's hard to call the Cloud a liar.

And when Verde takes offence (they all had at that point- not yet understanding how Skull-how Jazz- handled information of those who he worked with) and reacts by trying to _kill_ the upstart they learn that Skull is _Dangerous_.

Dangerous like Reborn and Fon. A killer, an assassin, a planner, not one for idle threats.

Because Skull makes an example of the Lightning. He destroys every security measure the man puts into place, breaks into _every single lab_ the man has- even the ones Verde had been sure were hidden- and he coats the labs in bright bubblegum pink paint.

A relatively harmless thing compared to what he could have done, but it proves a point. Skull had broken through every security measure the genius had come up with, torn apart any physical defense he had, and gotten into the Lightning's inner sanctums and defaced them with paint. The fact that the Cloud had dismantled any Experiments he found _safely_ showed he was a genius of his own. He hadn't been able to stop the Cloud- hadn't been able to hide even _one_ of his Labs, and it happened right after Verde had made the attempt on the Cloud's life meaning Skull had tracked the source back to him despite all the measures the genius had taken.

The fact Skull had made sure the other Arcobaleno had seen his retaliation meant they received the silent message clearly.

 _You can't hide from me. You can't keep me out. I_ will _retaliate against you if you try anything._

 _Warning Given._

It had been the only time Verde tried anything, and the other Arcobaleno had acknowledged the silent warning themselves.

They tested the limits of course- but Skull always seemed to be three steps ahead of them.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 **I** _ **did**_ **say** _ **short**_ **drabbles. I posted an edit for last chapter but those who missed it:** **I** _ **thought**_ **the Viral Daggers I mentioned later (last chapter) were cannon. They're not- they are the creation of SecretEnigma and so I give credit to her- and have her permission to keep them in here.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Arcobaleno are aware that Skull is the World's Best Stuntman.

None of them had ever seen any of his shows of course. Such a 'civilian' thing had no place in their background as Mafia big-shots, and none of the Arcobaleno were interested in any civilian stunt show. Not when they were certain the things they would see would be overshadowed and underwhelming when compared to their lives and everything that went on in them.

And then came The Mission. It took place before The Fated Day, after a few of the missions they had taken together, the beginning stages of what would become trust.

It had gone a bit...sideways, and in the end a distraction that was 'civilian' friendly was needed. No damages, no deaths, but a distraction all the same.

Skull had rolled his eyes, scoffing in amusement at the lot of them, and their utter obliviousness to _who_ it was they had in their ranks. "Ah can do it."

Reborn stopped short and turned to look at Skull, amusement visible in his gaze. "Exactly how much of a distraction do you think you can provide, Skull?"

Skull's eyes lit up at the challenge, the part of him that had been Jazz, who had _loved_ exceeding and shattering the expectations of others, thrilled with their doubt. "Ya don' know who Ah am." he smirked sharply at the hitman. "Ah've done this before. Ah am th' _best_ after all. Civilians know who Ah am. Letting them know _The Immortal Skull_ is going ta perform live?" Jazz- Skull's- grin was wide and daring. "They'll flock ta meh."

He knew from the Arcobaleno's expressions and the lightning quick glances to one another that they didn't believe him.

That was alright.

He'd prove them wrong.

"Trust meh." his eyes gleamed, and the Arcobaleno were surprised to see a mirror of their own expressions just before a mission. Reborn before a challenging hit, Fon when someone could keep up with him in the middle of a hand to hand match., Verde when faced with the 'unsolvable', Colonnello and Lal when they were the only thing standing between failure and a successful mission, or Viper when she was about to close a contract with a fool.

They stared at him as he reached into a pouch at his side. He pulled his helmet from within the pouch with a grin. It had been a combination of his knowledge of sub-spacing things as Jazz, and some creative use of his Cloud Flames, but Jazz had basically created his own little subspace pouch using the propagation property of his Flames to expand the space available to him inside smaller spaces, though it only worked because he knew the math behind subspace from his time as a mech.

The helmet was pulled over violet hair, and Skull turned the tinted visor to Viper as he spoke "Cover meh fer a minute. Ah need ta get ta a good spot withou' bein' spotted."

Viper tiled her head, pure stubborn Mist-fueled curiosity prompting her to keep the Mist Illusion that had hidden them from their pursuers over the Cloud as he darted out and around the crowds like a shadow.

 _Definitely not a Civilian._

The thought is unanimous as they watch Skull slip through the crowds like a ghost. Nothing is disturbed in his wake, not a soul would have noticed him even without the Mist Flames, and each of the Arcobaleno recognize the ease and skill in the Cloud's movements. They see the way he allows the crowd to move him along, appearing to be perfectly natural as he slides through the crowd.

Soon enough they watch with slightly wide eyes as Skull scales the closest building, giving hints as to how flexible and powerful the Cloud actually _is_ without a hint of Flame use, as it takes him a few short seconds to climb to the third story balcony hanging over the town center they had hidden in when the Mission went south.

All their eyes are on him, so they see when he turns to face Viper and nods once. They watch the Flames hiding him fade away, and they watch as he straightens, even this far from his side, they sense and see the change come over him.

Skull had been like silken danger- a sheathed blade, a threat, seen and sensed for all that it was controlled.

Here, watching Skull put on the helmet...it's like he's a different person. His aura changes, the sheathed blade vanishing for a magnetic showman. There is not one hint of the dangerous man he is, not a hint of what he could do.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" the accent is gone as well, they notice, as he throws his hands apart, open and palms facing the sky. He jumps, a clean smooth movement taking him to the railing where he stands in full view of the crowd.

A woman screams.

"I come bearing news!"

In the crowd, the Arcobaleno can hear as the whispers spread, rushed and excited as they begin to realize who they are looking at "Is that Skull-samma?!" one whispers to another.

"The Great Skull!" another gasps.

"The Immortal Stuntman!" a male whispers excitedly to friend.

"You mean _**the**_ Stuntman?" the friend replies.

The Arcobaleno exchange glances, surprise in their eyes at the sheer _excitement_ in the air, the near visible ripple that passes through the crowd.

"It is not often that I do this, and rarer still that I do it on such short notice, but it was such a lovely day, in such a wonderful town, how could I have possibly turned the opportunity down? I hope that you don't mind, but I have decided I will be performing live for all of you today!"

The screams of joy and surprise from the crowd are deafening.

Skull waves and arm, a smile heard in his voice "I'm glad you all seem to approve! Of course, in order to do this, I need your help!"

The crowd screams.

"We'll need to clear out this town center, give me some space to work with, and of course, I need to give all of you the chance to tell the rest of the town! Do you think you could help The Immortal Skull with that?!"

A roar rises from the crowd, the Arcobaleno looking around in shock as the crowd responds so enthusiastically, and then all eyes turn to Skull as he bows, flamboyant and magnetic.

"Thank you everyone!"

The Arcobaleno feel their eyes widen in shock as Skull continues the forward momentum of his bow, allowing his body to fall forward towards the ground.

As he passes the end of the balcony his hands lash out lightning quick, catching the edge of the balcony and changing the angle of his fall so that his feet catch some of the spots he had used to ascend to his place and allow him to stand upright for an instant.

His feet barely touch the handholds he had climbed long enough to launch himself forward, landing with a roll on the ground, smoothly transitioning onto his hands, pushing himself up into a handstand where he proceeded to spins in place, his hands moving one over the other, and his feet flying out, spinning around his body before he used the momentum to flip onto his feet.

The crowd roars.

(Later, the Arcobaleno will discover that Skull usually starts his show with a similar move, falling from some great height, nothing between himself and the ground, and landing in some variation of breakdance move.)

Skull bows once again as soon as he's on his feet calling loudly over the crowd "If we could clear the square here, everything will begin in 15 minutes! Bring your friends, and return quickly!"

The crowd leaps into motion around the Arcobaleno, rushing to obey the Cloud, clearing out of the way and some of the quicker members of the audience-to-be running toward the other homes, returning moments later with friends or family members.

And watching the crowd leap when Skull speaks, it dawns on the Arcobaleno that Skull is a voice of power, that he is _famous_ in the Civilian world the way Reborn is famous in the Mafia.

They exchange glances as Skull slides into the crowd, moving to get his bike from its hiding place.

They have no idea exactly what is coming their way.


End file.
